RPE Tongue Guard: Prevents and Helps Heal Tongue Sores Caused by Dental Expanders

I thought our 13 year old was going to remove the expander on his own with all the pain he was in. The wax the orthodontist gave us to help with pain was useless. These are a lifesaver! Today I am ordering a second set of three. Each mouth guard is only good for about 2 weeks before it cracks or wears down to the point it isn't helping. Totally worth it though. His tongue has healed and the complaining has stopped!

I needed this on a pinch since my daughter was having discomfort from expander indention on her tongue, and I wanted to stop it from getting worse. I received the item next day. Fine. It works great, BUT it is very delicate to work with. I dunked it into hot water from a dispenser that I have that was set to 140 degrees. It was a very brief dunk to soften it. Once placed into the mouth, you have to press with the tongue LIGHTLY, otherwise the wire of the appliance will cut through the sheet and make it unusable. I went through 2 in less than a day, and the 2nd one was additionally reinforced by a scrap piece (pictured middle). You can get 20 sheets of base plate wax for $15. Think about how much the markup on this item is. My first one broke in less than half a day. The 2nd was better, but I don't imagine it will last more than 2 days. SO ... after more research, I found that THERMAL BEADS are much more durable and cost less than what this crooked company is offering. (pictured): I went to Hobby Lobby the next day and grabbed a small container of MOLDABLE PLASTIC PELLETS for $6. There's a lot in there (you probably only need at most a 1tbsp). The trick is to get it to the right temperature to mold. Then I had my daughter press it until comfortable enough that she felt she could wear it all day, then she would rinse with COLD water to harden it, then spit it out. I later improved this step by using a pressure bottle sprayer (Lunatec) and filled the bottle with ice water and sprayed into her mouth until the plastic hardened and was able to come out. This took many tries, but with thermal beads, you can do it over as many times as you need. The white guard pictured is the result. It is a HARD plastic and durable. This material is also used in tooth repair kits and non-toxic. SKIP THIS RPE PRODUCT and look into thermal beads, and have patience to do it until it is comfortable and fitted. I can't imagine how much money this company is taking in with a good idea, but with such an inferior material.

I did not buy this product for orthodontic pain. I had a big lower molar pulled/extracted and I found that my tongue was getting lacerated by my sharp teeth (normal sharp - they could not be filed down or anything). I had a bone graft and I'm looking at MONTHS before a crown is back in place to protect my tongue. I've tried numerous products (orthodontic wax, various dental guards, all kinds of gum) and this is the best product so far. With water heated to about 112F, I just set the wax in the water for 5-10 seconds, then place it in my mouth lightly, barely biting down at first. I repeat this over and over until it's basically in the right shape. I never really bite down hard, but when I'm sure it's about right, I'll bite with some firmness. I also use my fingers to pinch it in (while warm) wherever necessary, or make the wax thinner so it doesn't rub. It works like a charm. I have made one mold of the top of my palate where it extends down below the lower teeth on the inside so my tongue is fully protected from upper and lower teeth at night. I also cut one wax template in half (or a third really) and made a smaller mold that just covers the lower left side, extending over the horrible healing gap, which is not hurt by this mold. This one is good for talking during the day. Talking is actually the worst of all my problems. I had fallen silent for weeks because of this problem. I can talk normally again and no one even notices. I still feel tired and feel some rubbing after several hours, but that's a huge leap ahead of the gum (irritated my gums, kept sliding around, sounded uncouth), better than the orthodontic wax (which seems softer and more comfortable at first, but then it falls apart), and better than dental guards which were too thick and impossible to speak with and made my jaws ache. So, thank you to RPE tongue guard. I have a feeling I'll be buying more of these. I think they're worth the price, even if I have to buy a new pack each month (but I'm not sure yet how many I'll need--maybe fewer).

I’m giving this product ⭐️⭐️⭐️only because they give you more than 1 guard, it comes with 3. I now see why! They don’t last more than a week. The concept is great and easy to work with but it’s too soft and eventually in the last guard we made a hole 🕳️ formed in the top where my sons deepest part of the roof of his mouth was. It helped him but these didn’t last. I followed what another customer review said to do and I wish I knew this sooner. I purchased dental thermal beads for $7 and molded my own. Took a few tries to get it right but if you mess it up you just put it back in hot water and remold it. Third time was a charm!!!!! As I expand his expander and his mouth changes I can just put back in HOT HOT water and wait for it to turn clear and then remold. Don’t waste your money 💵 j this product and go buy some THERMAL BEADS and make your own.

The tongue guard is a great idea. There a couple of problems though. By the time the product arrived, the tongue guards were melted together to each other and melted to the box. To fix this I brought water (in a small pot) to a boil. Then I let it cool to 120F (as instructed in the box). The cooling took around 15 minutes. I worked with a cooking thermometer. For me working with a cooking thermometer was the most important tool in this process. (I picked mine up at the Ralph’s grocery store some years ago and already had it on hand.) Without the thermometer I would have been lost. Once the water cooled to 120F, I gently placed all 3 tongue guards AND the container in the water for 10 seconds and started separating the molten together pieces carefully. I had to submerge the pieces in 120F water several times to unpeel and separate them successfully. To maintain the water temp at 120F, I kept the pot of water on the stove on a low setting. The thermometer confirming temperature settings. Here’s the thing. In working with this product, you are basically your own lab tech. So patience and preciseness will be key in a successful outcome. In the unpeeling process, I did loose, or rather had to sacrifice, one tongue guard to save the other two. Once you become used to dipping the material into 120F water to make the guards moldable, the process becomes easy. We melted 2 tongue guards to perfect useable form. Today is the first day of use so will need to update on the product’s efficacy in a couple of days. So to anyone out there who just purchased this product, good luck ❤️ Patience & a thermometer.

My son got a bar in his palate as part of his orthodontics. His tongue was getting ripped up by it. I found these by doing a search and ordered immediately. They are very easy to mold and easy to trim afterwards. They have helped my sons tongue immensely. He has gone through two of them in the last week, so I just ordered another package. Worth the price for the relief! My son rated this product a 5 but says the guard could be a little longer. His bar imprint is at the very end of the guard. His bar must be really far back and he is a teenager so his mouth is larger. But it does fit! We did have to throw one away because he didn’t get it back far enough when molding it. Lesson learned. Overall a fantastic product!

Its made of wax. I don't know what I was expecting. It was only good for a use of two before the wax began to give up. I used it as a night guard to curb the bad habit of my tongue resting against the roof of my mouth instead of my bottom jaw. The wax heated up in my mouth, making the wax very pliable, and my tongue was able to easily push on the guard and shape it however it liked. It didn't work, and if I had metal on the ceiling of my mouth, I can imagine the wax being cut in half by creating pressure against it with your tongue.

Immediate relief. It's a bit awkward for my daughter to have in her mouth, but when it's in, it provides relief in the areas where the expander was digging into and cutting into her tongue. Easy to mold and cut, easy to clean.